DE · rules
Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 9
Warrant or summons upon indictment or information
(a) Issuance. Upon the request of the attorney general certifying that there is a warrant or capias for the
defendant outstanding, that there is a risk of flight or of danger to the public, or that there is other good
reason that a warrant should issue in lieu of a summons, the court shall issue a warrant for each defendant
named in an information or in an indictment. Upon the request of the attorney general a summons instead
of a warrant shall issue. If no request is made, the court may issue either a warrant or a summons in its
discretion. More than one warrant or summons may issue for the same defendant. The prothonotary shall
deliver the warrant or summons to the sheriff or other person authorized by law to execute or serve it. If a
defendant fails to appear in response to the summons, a warrant shall issue.
(b) Form.
(1) Warrant. The form of the warrant shall be as provided in Rule 4(c)(1) except that it shall be
signed by the prothonotary and shall describe the offense charged in the indictment or information.
Bail may be fixed by the court and endorsed on the warrant.
(2) Summons. The summons shall be in the same form as the warrant except that it shall summon the
defendant to appear before the court at a stated time and place.
(c) Execution or service; and return.
(1) Execution or service. The warrant shall be executed or the summons served as provided in Rule
4(d)(1), (2) and (3). A summons to a corporation shall be served by delivering a copy to an officer or
to a managing or general agent or to any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive
service of process and, if the agent is one authorized by statute to receive service and the statute so
requires, by also mailing a copy to the corporation’s last known address within the State or at its
principal place of business elsewhere in the United States. An officer executing the warrant shall
bring the arrested person without unreasonable delay before the nearest available committing
magistrate of the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed or such other
committing magistrate as provided by the warrant or by statute, court rule or administrative order.
When a defendant arrested with a warrant issued pursuant to this rule is brought before a committing
magistrate, the committing magistrate shall hold the defendant to answer in Superior Court. Bail shall
be fixed as endorsed on the warrant or, in the absence thereof, as the committing magistrate deems
appropriate in the circumstances. When a defendant appears in Superior Court pursuant to a
summons, the court shall set bail. If the defendant was previously charged with the same offense or
with a different offense based on the same act or transaction, and the charge or charges were
dismissed by the committing magistrate or by the attorney general, the court may reinstate bail
previously posted by a professional or corporate surety. When the court orders bail reinstated, the
surety shall be subject to the obligation of the bond previously executed. The prothonotary shall serve
a notice of the reinstatement by mail upon the surety. Lack of notice shall not affect the obligation
which shall continue until the condition of the bond has been satisfied or the court grants the surety’s
application to withdraw.
(2) Return. The officer executing a warrant shall make return thereof to the committing magistrate
before whom the defendant is brought. At the request of the attorney general any unexecuted warrant
shall be returned and cancelled. On or before the return day the person to whom a summons was
delivered for service shall make return thereof. At the request of the attorney general made at any
time while the indictment or information is pending, a warrant returned unexecuted and not cancelled
or a summons returned unserved or a duplicate thereof may be delivered by the prothonotary to the
sheriff or other authorized person for execution or service.
History
Adopted, effective Feb. 12, 1953; amended, effective July 1, 1976; revised, effective Jan. 1, 1992.
Provenance
- Source
- courts.delaware.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-23
- Edition
- 2026-09-23
- Content hash
d083b961e5b0a21cfa8cbc019ab15ad7696bd7808717e6b2b595e9f28dcd0742
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